Saturday Read: October 3, 1863 - Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday. The United States was in its third year of civil war. Over 600,000 Americans would die before it ended - more than all other American wars combined. Brothers fought brothers. The nation was tearing itself apart.
Yet in the midst of this catastrophe, Lincoln called for national thanksgiving. His proclamation is worth reading in full, but these lines capture its essence: "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."
Notice what Lincoln did. He acknowledged God's judgment ("dealing with us in anger for our sins") while simultaneously recognizing God's mercy. He didn't pretend the war wasn't devastating. He didn't claim God was on the Union's side exclusively. He called the nation to gratitude in the middle of ongoing trauma.
The proclamation listed reasons for thanksgiving: "The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies." Despite war, crops still grew. Despite death, life continued. Despite division, there remained reasons for gratitude. Lincoln understood that thanksgiving isn't waiting until everything is resolved but acknowledging God's faithfulness in the midst of ongoing difficulty.
Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, had campaigned for seventeen years for a national Thanksgiving holiday. She wrote letters to five presidents. Four ignored her. Lincoln listened. In the middle of the war, when he had vastly more urgent concerns, he took time to establish a day for national gratitude. That tells you something about Lincoln's priorities - and about the importance of thanksgiving.
Paul commanded: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not "give thanks for all circumstances" - you don't thank God for evil. But "give thanks in all circumstances" - even in difficulty, there are reasons for gratitude.
The Puritan practice of keeping gratitude journals emerged from this theology. When facing hardship, write down reasons to thank God. The exercise doesn't deny difficulty. It refuses to let difficulty blind you to ongoing mercies. Even in the worst circumstances, God remains faithful. Food still tastes good. Sunsets still inspire awe. Friends still offer comfort. These aren't trivial - they're testimonies to God's continued care.
Lincoln's proclamation called Americans to thank God "with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience" while also commending "to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife." Gratitude didn't mean ignoring suffering. It meant trusting God's care for sufferers while acknowledging his faithfulness despite national sin.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by the Nazis in 1943, wrote: "It is only when one loves life and the earth so much that without them everything seems to be over that one may believe in the resurrection and a new world." Gratitude for present gifts prepares you to hope for future restoration. If you can't acknowledge God's goodness now, you'll struggle to trust his promises about eternity.
What are you facing that makes gratitude difficult? What circumstances tempt you to focus exclusively on what's wrong while ignoring what remains good? Lincoln faced a nation at war with itself, hundreds of thousands dead, and no certain end in sight. Yet he called for thanksgiving. Not because everything was fine but because God remained faithful.
As October begins, follow Lincoln's example. Acknowledge the difficulty honestly. Don't pretend suffering doesn't hurt. But also recognize God's ongoing mercies. Crops still grow. Life continues. There are reasons for gratitude even in hardship. Name them. Write them down. Thank God for them. This isn't denying pain - it's refusing to let pain blind you to God's persistent faithfulness.
